Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT) was founded as a state-owned telecommunications company during the occupation of Japan to replace the American telecommunications services provided by AT&T. Based in Tokyo, NTT is currently the fourth largest telecommunications company worldwide and is ranked 55th on the Forbes Global 500 list. The company has expanded beyond telecommunications and has holdings in various technology-based endeavors. “Ever since the launch of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation in 1952,” the company’s website claims, “NTT has created a variety of technologies and proposed new ways of using these in response to the demands of the times.”

The demands of the times now include finding novel ways to implement drone technology to provide streamlined day-to-day services. In 2012, NTT began using drones as force multipliers in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. By 2019, NTT’s subsidiary, e-Drone Technology, ceased using any drones manufactured in China and began using domestically made drones. In addition to Japanese-made drones, NTT e-Drone Technology also uses drones made by American companies such as Parrot and Skydio. They provide drone support for fields including disaster relief, agriculture, demonstration and development, and inspections. Since the dawn of the drone industry revolution, drones have proven to be ideal tools for multiple types of inspections. They can easily access hard-to-reach places, providing up-close details on sites in need of inspection. During the early stages of the industry, getting approval to use drones for inspections took time, but as technology and regulations have progressed, the rapid deployment of inspection drones has become much easier.

In February 2011, Japan’s Road Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism began a new program called the Inspection Support Technology Performance Catalog. The objective of this program was to find ways to ensure safety in public infrastructure that would utilize the best in technology. In August 2024, the Ministry added to the program a request to develop an accurate system for inspecting bridges on national highways. Being at the forefront of technology, NTT e-Drone Technology announced on May 13, 2024, that it would take on responsibility for the project utilizing a new AI-enabled drone system they had designed to inspect corrosion levels on the nation’s bridges.

As NTT explained, the AI-enabled drone camera system they developed “can automatically grasp the corroded areas of the equipment and the thickness of the remaining steel material from the images, enabling highly accurate evaluation of equipment durability and load-bearing performance. This reduces maintenance costs by allowing repairs to be performed in a timely manner.” Previously, inspectors had to use cherry picker trucks or climbing equipment to get close to the steel supports on bridges. They then use ultrasonic devices to measure the depth of corrosion. With the drone’s camera, an operator can stay safely on the ground and still get up close to the bridge.

NTT and NTT e-Drone Technology conducted a trial of the new drone system on September 2, 2024, in Kumagaya City. The crew flew a drone to inspect the steel supports of a road bridge. The purpose was to collect data through the drone to quantify the level of corrosion compared to the data provided by traditional ultrasonic measuring devices. The results of the test are still being studied, but NTT is hopeful that the new drone program will be able to replace the methods currently in use. “In addition to reducing the cost of installing scaffolding, which is required when inspecting a large road bridge,” NTT said in an October 3, 2024, press release, “the use of image recognition AI makes it easy and inexpensive to identify corroded parts of equipment and measure the thickness of steel materials.”

The cost reductions from using drones go beyond the expense of erecting scaffolding for bridge inspections. The ultrasonic measuring devices are extremely expensive. A drone with AI capabilities will cost a fraction of the ultrasonic device. Costs will also be cut in terms of manpower. Inspections conducted by a drone will only require a few people to be onsite, as opposed to the large crews needed to set up scaffolding, monitor traffic, and operate the inspection equipment. As NTT and NTT e-Drone Technology continue to innovate in the field of infrastructure inspection, the integration of drone technology and AI not only promises to enhance efficiency and accuracy but also sets a new standard for safety in public works.

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